ARSENAL came from behind to beat Cologne in their delayed Europa League opener against a backdrop of crowd trouble at the Emirates Stadium. See how the drama unfolded with Express Sport.

Arsenal v Cologne: Europa League LIVE scores, updates and highlights from the Emirates

THAT’S ALL FOLKS,

I’m back again tomorrow night to bring you LIVE coverage of Bournemouth v Brighton from the Vitality Stadium. See you then!

23:25: Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger:“We had a slow start and there was an accidental goal. After that it was important not to concede and panic and put more pace into our game. From then. we controlled the game and won convincingly in the end.

"I think Sanchez is still running after his best form. He is a fantastic football player but physically he has just come back. But he has it in his locker to do something special, which he did.

"We want to do well in all the best competitions and I had an experienced team today, even though I made nine changes. They are all top class players, there is no hierarchy in the squad."

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Arsenal v Cologne: Europa League LIVE scores, updates and highlights from the Emirates

23:15: Talk about overstaying your welcome. Apparently the Cologne supporters are still in the stands signing their hearts out, despite being asked by the stadium announcer to leave.

23:10: Arsenal’s Hector Bellerin:“It’s a new competition for us so we had to set the tone. We think we are one of the best teams in the competition so we have to show that on the pitch.

“I’m very happy for the victory. We were ready to play at eight o’clock, but these things happen. We started a bit with cold feet but after that it just worked. The win in the league against Bournemouth and today’s win, coming back from behind, gives you a boost. We will train over the next two days and then be ready for Chelsea.“

TWITTER ROUND-UP

Jodie: Well Arsenal didn't make it easy for themselves but pleased we got the win! So impressed with Sead Kolasinac and Alexis Sanchez.

James: Took a half to get used to the hostage situation but a comfortable win in the end.

Tom: Never easy to win away in Europe, especially when your a goal down at HT, but Arsenal have done well in the end tonight.

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Arsenal v Cologne: Europa League LIVE scores, updates and highlights from the Emirates

23:00: Our reporter Alex Wood:“Arsenal get the win. Riot police poised in front of Cologne fans. Probably wise. Madness. I'd guess around 10k when they had a 2900 allocation."

ARSENAL 3-1 COLOGNE

FT: The Gunners have survived a first-half scare to beat Cologne in their opening Europa League clash. Second-half strikes from Sead Kolasinac, Alexis Sanchez and Hector Bellerin secured the win after huge crowd trouble forced the match to be delayed for an hour.

"The Colombian sliced a clearance which found its way to Jhon Cordoba. The 30-year-old forward still had a fair bit of work to do, but expertly lobbed the Gunners goalkeeper from around 30 yards."

HT: A very uneventful two minutes of injury time, referee Javier Estrada Fernande blows his whistle for half-time. Plenty of boos around the stadium. I guess there must be some Arsenal fans inside!

TWO MINUTES ADDED TIME

44: Our reporter Alex Wood:“Midfield balance is all over the show for Arsenal. Alex Iwobi is never a central midfielder. Mohamed Elneny workmanlike but mediocre."

43: Another misplaced pass, more groans from supporters. Alexis Sanchez looks to switch play with a Hollywood cross to Theo Walcott, but he’s overcooked it.

43: Just a reminder that Cologne are bottom of the Bundesliga. With no points.

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Arsenal v Cologne: Europa League LIVE scores, updates and highlights from the Emirates

40: We should be level. Alex Iwobi charges through the middle, lays it off to Alexis Sanchez, who delicately chips a cross over to Olivier Giroud. The Frenchman rises highest, but guides it wide.

39: Arsenal fans getting restless, and that emotion changed to anger when Theo Walcott got shrugged off the ball far too easily. Get on the weights, Theo.

36: It turns out that David Ospina’s clumsy challenge has done some serious damage to Hector. He’s off for an early bath with Jojic taking his place. Big loss for the German visitors.

35: Sanchez to Giroud, back to Sanchez, over to Elneny… miles wide. Lovely approach play until it arrived at the Egyptian’s feet.

32: Luuuucccckyyyyy escape for Arsenal. Hector narrowly misses a lovely cross from the left, but David Ospina spills and clatters into an onrushing forward. It would have been a stonewall penalty, but the linesman comes to his rescue by flagging for offside.

30: Arsenal turning attack into defence in the blink of an eye. Hector Bellerin races down the right flank but misplaces a pass and Cologne win the corner. Astonishing really.

26: Rob Holding’s living dangerously. That’s his third foul in the opening 26-minutes but somehow avoids a booking again.

23: Arsenal knocking at the door. Alex Iwobi dinks a ball over the top to the onrushing Theo Walcott, but he scuffs his effort wide of the post.

20: Better from Arsenal. Hector Bellerin goes on a signature run down the right before sending a hopeful ball into Olivier Giroud, whose header fails to trouble Timo Horn.

17: Good grief! Calamitous defending from Holding and Mertesacker almost allows Hector to walk through and poke home, but Holding recovers to block.

14: Close! Alexis Sanchez whips a corner into the area but Nacho Monreal’s header doesn’t have any real power and Horn collects with ease.

ARSENAL 0-1 COLOGNE - CORDOBA

10: WHAT A GOAL! WHAT AN ABSOLUTE WONDER GOAL!

Jhon Cordoba has sent the Cologne fans into ecstasy with a fantastic 40-yard goal. The forward collects a weak clearance from David Ospina, and rifles it over the backtracking stopper to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.

10: Cologne manager Peter Stoger is wondering up and down the touchline. He’s dressed in a grey suit and luminous red trainers. Clearly going for that ‘I go to the gym straight after work’ look…

7: Oh, the flares are out. I would normally tell you if they were set off in the Arsenal or away end, but who knows which is which anymore. Just stick that on the UEFA charges tab...

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Arsenal v Cologne: Europa League LIVE scores, updates and highlights from the Emirates

4: Rob Holding looks a yard off the pace and concedes a free-kick in a very dangerous area. His blushes are spared as it’s sent straight into the wall.

3: As expected, Arsenal are fully in control of the early stages. Their strength in depth will be critical during this Europa League campaign. Saying that, Holding rugby tackles Bittencourt and is lucky to escape a booking.

Gareth: I'm sure a few phone calls to Millwall and this Arsenal situation could've been sorted hours ago!

Cheney: What's the point in travelling all the way to another country and ruining the game/ evening for everyone?

Erik: If you think the scenes in the Emirates Stadium is crazy, imagine how crazy it will get during the 2018 World Cup in Russia!

20:20: Cologne can’t say they weren’t warned!

Ahead of the delay, Arsenal's official website warned Cologne fans they faced being asked to leave the stadium if they purchased tickets in the home sections of the ground.

"Please note visiting supporters that purchase a ticket in the home end for this fixture are likely to be ejected from the stadium," a statement on their website read.

20:15: There’s a bunch of videos circling around Twitter of Cologne fans completely taking over the Arsenal sections. Judging by the amount of people in the home section joining in with this Cologne chant, segregation is a major issue still.

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Arsenal v Cologne: Europa League LIVE scores, updates and highlights from the Emirates

20:10: Riot police have arrived! Reports are saying that the situation is ‘easing’ and we should still be starting at 21:05.

20:07: Blimey. Having begun to let some Cologne supporters into the stadium, fights are now breaking out.

The Cologne supporters who bought tickets for the home end are fighting with stewards to reach the away section. I really don’t know if this match is going to take place tonight folks.

20:05: Hundreds of Cologne supporters were being held behind a police cordon as order was being restored in and around the away turnstiles.

No further delays were anticipated but another problem occurring was the number of away fans attempting to enter the home sections of the stadium with legitimate tickets.

Earlier today, Cologne supporters flooded into central London as around 20,000 fans of the Bundesliga side were expected in the capital despite only 3,000 tickets being available.

Fans took to the streets in their numbers, with social media posts showing hordes of supporters singing and marching around Oxford Circus hours before the scheduled 20:05BST kick-off.

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Arsenal v Cologne: Europa League LIVE scores, updates and highlights from the Emirates

Arsenal v Cologne: Europa League LIVE scores, updates and highlights from the Emirates

20:00: Evening folks, I’ve just witnessed an absolute shambles in Italy with Everton being thrashed 3-0 by Atalanta, and apparently there’s another circus unfolding in North London?! I’ll explain the situation.

19:25: “The kick-off of Arsenal v Cologne has been delayed by an hour in the interests of crowd safety,” the Gunners have tweeted.

19:20: Arsenal are saying that the sheer volume of Cologne supporters outside the stadium is preventing home fans getting in. Remember, the Bundesliga side have brought 20,000 with them to London.

19:15: Bad news folks. Tonight’s match at the Emirates has been delayed by an hour because of crowd congestion. That means Arsenal v Cologne will NOT start until 21:05.

Seven of Arsenal's first-choice players will be rested completely from the game with Petr Cech, Laurent Koscielny, Alexandre Lacazette, Granit Xhaka, Aaron Ramsey, Danny Welbeck and Mesut Ozil all sitting this one out.

That does not necessarily mean it will be a team of inexperienced youngsters as Jack Wilshere could make a long-awaited comeback while Alexis Sanchez may feature as he strives for match sharpness.

Back-up David Ospina is likely to come in, while the likes of Shkodran Mustafi, Per Mertesacker, Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud are also in contention.